Canadian historical association rebrands award named for John A. Macdonald

A Canadian historical association is stripping the name of the country's first prime minister from one of its top honours.

John A. Macdonald's place in Canadian history was debated by many of the scholars who know it best at the Canadian Historical Association's annual meeting in Regina.

After around 40 years of handing out the Sir John A. Macdonald Prize, the association's members voted 121-11 on Tuesday to rebrand the award as the CHA Prize for Best Scholarly Book in Canadian History, said association president Adele Perry.

Perry said the new title is more in line with the intentions of the $5,000 prize, which recognizes non-fiction writing that's been deemed to have made a significant contribution to the study of Canadian history.

“One of the distinctions that historians always draw is that there's a difference between history and commemoration,” said Perry, who is a professor at the University of Manitoba.

“Prize names are something that people talk about and have expectations and ideas about, and the conversation has occurred in a range of ways.” ...